There are countless opportunities for promo distributors to expand their offerings within top end-buyer markets using print products.
That’s the big takeaway from this new Promo Insiders podcast featuring Rusty Pepper, head of new markets and partnerships at Taylor OnDemand, part of Taylor Corp. He discusses six markets – healthcare, retail, nonprofits, hospitality, tech and youth sports – that are consistently lucrative for promo and presents tactics and print product ideas for sales growth in each sector.
Hospitality, for example, has slowly been recovering since the pandemic. Pepper says the print opportunities are myriad. “Hyper-personalization for guests is really key right now,” he explains. “Also think about room card sleeves, door hangs for each room, room service menus, remote control wraps. COVID changed a lot of things, and much of that change has stayed in place.”
Nonprofits too have had to find their footing after COVID canceled mission-critical events and fundraisers and significantly reduced volunteer numbers. “Direct mail is huge for nonprofits,” says Pepper. “It’s that outreach. How do you hyper-personalize the products, like the brochures, mailers and packaging? It’s different ways you can deliver the experience to them.”
Podcast Chapters
0:39: Targeting the healthcare market
3:28: Opportunities in retail
6:54: What is the nonprofit sector looking for?
8:16: Catering to the recovering hospitality industry
13:44: Serving the discerning tech market
15:58: Bonus: Youth sports
Key Takeaways
• Opportunities in Healthcare: In promo’s second-largest market in 2023, there’s growing demand for personalized printed materials for patients at hospitals, doctor’s offices and insurance networks.
• Retail & E-commerce Trends: Despite inflation affecting consumer purchasing power, there’s a growing need for customized packaging, personalized printed products and physical catalogs.
• Growth in Nonprofits & Charities: These groups need help with outreach – printed direct mail items are key to growing their support bases, as well as packaging and mailer boxes.
• Recovery in the Hospitality Market: Consumers are taking advantage of travel opportunities, which means hotels need printed materials, like room card sleeves and door hangs, everywhere from the front desk to each individual room.
• Demand Among Tech Startups: These discerning clients want personalized, high-end promo and print products for events, product launches, employee engagement and customer-facing projects.
• Score Big With Youth Sports: It’s a robust and recession-proof market, with kids on multiple teams in different seasons and families eager to buy. Consider banners, signage and personalized gear.
